To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased since deployment of 4th-Generation (4G) communication systems, efforts have been made to develop an improved 5th-Generation (5G) or pre-5G communication system. Therefore, the 5G or pre-5G communication system is also called a ‘Beyond 4G Network’ or a ‘Post LTE System’. The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 60 GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates. To decrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase the transmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed in 5G communication systems. In addition, in 5G communication systems, development for system network improvement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloud Radio Access Networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperative communication, Coordinated Multi-Points (CoMP), reception-end interference cancellation and the like. In the 5G system, Hybrid FSK and QAM Modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC) as an advanced coding modulation (ACM), and filter bank multi carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) as an advanced access technology have been developed.
The Internet, which is a human centered connectivity network where humans generate and consume information, is now evolving to the Internet of Things (IoT) where distributed entities, such as things, exchange and process information without human intervention. The Internet of Everything (IoE), which is a combination of the IoT technology and the Big Data processing technology through connection with a cloud server, has emerged. As technology elements, such as “sensing technology”, “wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure”, “service interface technology”, and “Security technology” have been demanded for IoT implementation, a sensor network, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and so forth have been recently researched. Such an IoT environment may provide intelligent Internet technology services that create a new value to human life by collecting and analyzing data generated among connected things. IoT may be applied to a variety of fields including smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car or connected cars, smart grid, health care, smart appliances and advanced medical services through convergence and combination between existing Information Technology (IT) and various industrial applications.
In line with this, various attempts have been made to apply 5G communication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies such as a sensor network, Machine Type Communication (MTC), and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication may be implemented by beamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. Application of a cloud Radio Access Network (RAN) as the above-described Big Data processing technology may also be considered to be as an example of convergence between the 5G technology and the IoT technology.
At their initial developmental stage, wireless communication systems sought to provide voice service, ensuring mobility of users. The wireless communication systems have evolved to provide data service beyond voice service. Now, the wireless communication systems are capable of providing high-speed data service.
FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a wireless communication system according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, the wireless communication system may include a User Equipment (UE) 100, a Radio Access Network (RAN) 130, and a core network 140.
The RAN 130 may communicate with the UE 100 via a radio interface 110. The other components of the wireless communication system may be interconnected mainly by cable. A RAN component 120 interacting with the UE 100 via the radio interface 110 may be any of, for example, an evolved Node B (eNB), a Node B, a Radio Network Subsystem (RNS) including an eNB or a Node B, a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a Base Station Subsystem (BSS) including a Base Station (BS), a radio access point, a home eNB, a home Node B, a home eNB GateWay (GW), and an X2 GW. For the convenience of description, at least one of the RAN components 120 or the RAN 130 will be referred to as a ‘radio access point’ in the present disclosure.
The radio access point 120 may manage one or more cells. A cell covers a specific area and the UE 100 is serviced within the coverage area of a cell. The cell refers to a cell of a cellular system and the radio access point 120 refers to a device that manages and controls the cell. However, the cell and the radio access point 120 may be interchangeably used in the same meaning for the convenience of description in the present disclosure. When an object (for example, an embodiment) is described, the cell and the radio access point 120 may also be interchangeably used in the same meaning for the convenience of description.
The core network 140 may include a RAN control entity 135. The RAN control entity 135 is responsible for overall control functions including mobility management, authentication, and security. The RAN control entity 135 may be at least one of, for example, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN).
Since the radio access point 120 provides a service to the UE 100 via the radio interface 110, the radio access point 120 has an appropriate coverage area for providing the service.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating coverage area overlap according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 2, two adjacent radio access points 120a and 120b generally have their own coverage areas 210a and 210b, respectively. There may be an overlapped area 220 between the coverage area 210a and the coverage area 210b. If the UE 100 is located in the overlapped area 220, the UE 100 may experience severe interference from a signal received from at least one of the radio access points 120a and 120b. For example, if the UE 100 is receiving a service from the radio access point 120a, the UE 100 may experience severe interference from the radio access point 120b. 
While the radio access points 120a and 120b are shown in FIG. 2 as having a similar-sized coverage area 210 (210a and 210b), this should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. Thus, interference situations caused by the inclusion of the coverage area of one radio access point in the coverage area of another radio access point, overlap among the coverage areas of three or more radio access points, and other various coverage area overlaps may be considered in the present disclosure.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has been developing a technology of enabling a plurality of radio access points 120 to communicate in cooperation in order to mitigate interference. An example of the technology is Coordinated Multi-Point Transmission and Reception (CoMP).
If a coordination range goes beyond one radio access point, that is, coordination between a plurality of radio access points is considered, information may be exchanged between the radio access points.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.